My Five Books

I’ve been thinking a lot about the books that have most affected my life. Perhaps they have come to me at just the right time or perhaps the authors and their woven words are just that fantastic. I like to think it’s a mixture of both.

To get to just five, I had to cut out a lot of wonderful books (like Bird by Bird, Writing Down the Bones, Blue Like Jazz, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, The True and the Questions, Messy Spirituality, etc.). But these five are so special to me. They have changed me, shaped me, helped me to step more boldly into myself. Here they are in the order I have read them:

THE LITTLE PRINCE – In high school I wrote my salutatorian speech based on this book. I painted our first child’s nursery with scenes from the Little Prince. I think it’s a book that allows my heart to believe in the CHILDLIKE spirit inside me, inside all of us. It’s a beautiful book.

THE SACRED ROMANCE – I was so fortunate to have John Eldredge as a professor my last semester of college. This book will forever mark a very personal step into my faith and a radical deepening in my relationship with God. It’s when my heart came alive again and color returned to life.

THE ARTIST’S WAY – Made me see “art” and “creativity” in a whole new light. Made me think about my heart, my dreams, my voice, my childlike soul and that believing in myself and who God created me to be was not selfish or conceited or foolish. It made me ask questions, take risks, dare to believe in more.

BOUNDARIES – I’m really still processing this one. I just finished it in January. And in truth, I don’t think I needed to read the whole thing. This book, for me, was really about catching the overall premise. Cloud and Townsend have lots of specific examples and stories of peoples lives, and not all of them were necessary to read, nor did all of them apply. But the overall idea, which I think is summarized here, is truly revolutionary to me. I’m in a stage of learning to say no and realizing that is okay. I’m also in a stage of learning that I can’t control others actions or responses, only my own. I ultimately am responsible for my life. This book, for me, is about learning to not be a people pleaser (basing my decisions on what others will think of me) and about learning to not control others. It’s about learning to be confidently responsible for doing the best I can with my own life and choices.

GALATIANS – I started reading Galatians, a book of the Bible, in November and I am still re-reading it in March. It’s written by Paul as a letter to the churches in Galatia. I have never in my life spent so much time in one book of the Bible. I just resonate with every word. Everyday it helps refocus me on what God is teaching me right now: FREEdom from guilt, FREEdom to be myself, FREEdom from comparison, FREEdom from rules, FREEdom from condemnation, FREEdom to talk to God personally and honestly, FREEdom from doing things the way they’ve always been done, FREEdom to trust discern and trust God’s Spirit as it leads me, FREEdom to do the things that I’m passionate about, FREEdom to make my life look like what I imagine it could look like, FREEdom from my IMPERFECTions, FREEdom to live CHILDLIKE.

I have felt silly sometimes, reading the same words over and over again, but I feel like God is asking me to keep reading them, until they sink in, until I believe them. Gosh, I may be in this book the rest of my life. It’s really good for my heart.

Please, tell me, what are the books that have changed your life? Maybe it’s one? Maybe it’s five? I’d love to have you share those with all of us in the comments below, or talk about them on your blog and give us the link.